The United States Under the New Administration Feels Strangely Recognizable to Observers from the East

When Vickie Wang, a rising comedic talent, takes the stage in New York, she is not only thinking about what humor to tell. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from directly attacking the administration,” she explained. Or if she ventures there, she ensures it's not captured for social media. “I would never publish openly material in which I directly criticize the government … I think it's a learned behavior from China.”

Wang, 39, resided in Shanghai for almost a decade, leaving in 2022. In 2025, she moved to the US. Upon arrival, she embarked on a frenzy of “revenge bingeing on freedom,” attending talks, protests, and delving into the city's library system.

But in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “Back home, I understood the boundaries, while here I find myself on shifting sands.”

Her concerns mirror an emerging political reality in America which numerous individuals from China, or people with experience in China, find disturbingly similar. Enemies face exclusion. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Institutions are attacked.

Trump has openly expressed regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He's called Xi as “fantastic”. As they agreed a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the camaraderie between both figures of nations with vastly different governance models became clear. And after decades of optimism in America that improved relations with China may help the growing nation to liberalise, under Trump 2.0, it appears that America is being pulled in the Chinese direction, rather than the other way around.

“America is experiencing an era of cultural revolution,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor at a top Chinese university. “The top leader, Trump, is trying to rally the grassroots in order to sideline or weaken established figures … similar to events in the country half a century ago.”

Since Trump initiated the so-called Department for Government Efficiency, or the agency, on federal institutions at the start of his term, numerous Chinese observers see US politics through the lens of the Cultural Revolution. Be it the rallying of the youth to carry out presidential directives, or purging organizations of those deemed opposition, Trump from a Chinese viewpoint has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to the US, albeit without equivalent degrees of violence.

But since the upheaval of the initial period of the new administration has calmed, an unfamiliar, distinct type of climate has settled in the country, which in different ways seems recognizable to numerous Chinese individuals.

‘The Beacon Is Dimmer’

The deepest similarity between Trump’s America and the East is the suppression on open expression.

A former police officer, turned Chinese Communist party dissenter, found himself in a controversy this year, the likes of which he’d only previously experienced in his homeland. He resided in America since 2019, having fled the country because of harassment from officials.

Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that Kirk was a “scumbag”. Like people nationwide – many of whom lost their jobs as a result of expressing criticism about Kirk – he encountered significant backlash. Relatives had personal info leaked and he faced allegations of espionage attempting to create division.

“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in the United States – something that typically happens in a repressive state,” he commented.

His backlash originated from fellow social media users, rather than the state, but such of public monitoring bears similarities with China.

“Regarding going after those who disagree and monitoring open discourse on topics that are sensitive … It's appearing in the US,” said an academic, a scholar at Georgia State University. “This is observed in China today as well,” she said, stating that there were now fears in the US of students reporting on teachers, a form of monitoring that has been encouraged by Chinese authorities.

Zhang, the legal expert, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to the US for political inspiration, in part because public debate on domestic politics in the country is dangerous. However, “America isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”

“We used to see America as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.

Progressive Chinese, who are often, behind closed doors, critical of the nation's governance, are increasingly finding it less objectionable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of painful to accept this reality … but post-COVID, the government appears to be pursuing correct policies in improving the environment and promoting EVs and investing in hi-tech,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by the United States, seems to be in decline.”

The Trump administration’s acquisition of shares in American firms has also drawn parallels with the East, where the line between government and private industry is often blurred.

On Monday, authorities announced it would become an investor in a new company focused on mineral refinement, following similar stakes in additional firms deemed vital to national security. These moves have made some investors nervous that the US is entering a fresh phase of government meddling in private industry.

Yet, there remain major differences between the US under Trump and the East. In October, multiple media outlets among others refused to sign to a Pentagon policy that demanded reporting solely on approved news. US courts have halted or reversed many of Trump’s actions, an action that is impossible in the nation's party-dominated judiciary.

An analyst, the founder of Strategy Risks, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “The United States could descend into its gravest challenge of all time, orders of magnitudes worse than currently, and it will still be freer, open, and liberal than the East under its leader.”

The professor notes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges yield to official requests concerning DEI policies and free speech on university grounds, in China, leading institutions are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are appointed by the state, “have no liberty refuse. They can’t afford to be disobedient.”

Nevertheless, Americans are starting to adopt measures previously associated with repressive regimes. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues refused to speak for this piece. He stated: “Honestly, I fear of suppression here: I actually feel less afraid to criticise Xi these days than say anything bad